


By the Wide Blue Sea

by greygerbil



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Dragon Riders, Dragons, Impregnation, Knotting, M/M, Mpreg, Pseudo-Ancient Greece, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:58:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19966108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/pseuds/greygerbil
Summary: Alkaeus is looking forward to his marriage to Nereus, respected military leader and powerful dragon shifter; it's the continuation of Nereus' excalted bloodline he will have to participate in that worries him.





	By the Wide Blue Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BiffElderberry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiffElderberry/gifts).



The wind drove into Alkaeus’ face in dry, warm squalls, even as high up in the air as they were and with the sun already sinking in their backs, burning up the sky in a blend of red and gold and pink. It was the middle of summer, when the earth was baked to dust and even the olive trees and stone pines seemed ready to wilt in the heat.

Nereus moved steady under him. Alkaeus’ palms rested on his shimmering blue scales, his naked thighs bracketing the long, thick, snake-like neck at the base. It was how dragon riders were always seated on their mounts, dressed in a sturdy metal breastplate and leather battle skirt, but tonight, every shift of the powerful body under him pulled at his nerves. Tonight, Nereus and him would become mates.

It had surprised Alkaeus that Nereus agreed to the king’s proposal of their marriage. Nereus had never been mated with a rider, for one, though it was so common for other dragons. For another, their recent companionship had been more or less accidental. Nereus’ old rider had lost use of his leg to a spear half a year ago in the attack on Argalis. Alkaeus, who was with the army on the ground, had been chosen as a replacement more or less in the heat of the fight because no one else was around who knew how to ride a dragon and since it was easy to get lost in the animal senses when blood and fire were all around, dragons needed riders to keep them steady. Alkaeus had learned to ride in his days at military camp on the back of an old general with dragon blood who thought him talented, but he had never figured he would be given the chance in actual combat.

Even though he had now fought two dozen battles with Nereus, hailing arrows and fire down on their foes, duelling other dragons and their riders high above the din of hoplites meeting on the field, he still hadn’t dared to truly consider himself Nereus’ rider, either. Nereus was fifteen years older than him, his family from the old blood that formed the original stock of their _polis_ , and had long cemented his status as a respected leader in wars Alkaeus had been too young to participate in. Besides that, Alkaeus was a simple foot soldier’s son and though he’d fought claw and fangs up to the position of lieutenant by the time when he’d first climbed on Nereus’ back, he was in many ways still much below him.

But here they were, engaged to be married. Nereus’ wings beat the heated air. Alkaeus did not give him directions with the press of his thighs and hands now, as he usually would, his suggestions and Nereus’ actions forming one will. He had no idea where dragons took their mates for the first night.

They had reached the coast, the sea stretching dark blue into the darkening horizon. Nereus dropped down on a steep descent towards a sparsely wooded cliff overlooking the water. Alkaeus could feel his heart lower into his stomach with their descent.

He knew what this excursion entailed. Dragons got heirs on their mates as soon as possible to further their rare bloodlines. It mattered little in that whether their chosen one was a man or woman; the human body would change to fit its supernatural partner, touched by the magic of the dragons. Perhaps one of the reasons he had been chosen was because he seemed likely to survive. He would do well carrying a babe, Alkaeus was sure. He was tall and built thick with muscle, a warrior every inch, and he rarely grew sick. Yes, it would be no problem at all. Quite a few men had managed it.

It would be foolish to be nervous, really.

Nereus landed in the grass, as quiet as on lion’s paws, always again a surprise with his size and weight, though Alkaeus had seen it so often. He slid off of him, running his eyes along the length of his body, which was the colour of the sea behind them, with eyes silver and vivid like moonlight reflecting in the waves, the span of Nereus’ wings seemingly growing from one end to the horizon to the other when Alkaeus stood so close. Then, the figure shrunk.

In their human form, those with dragon blood were still taller than any human could hope to be. Nereus was easily eight feet of perfectly sculpted body. His tanned skin had a blue shimmer to it where the light caught it and soft scales still grew on him in patches. His ears remained pointed and his eyes the same bright colour as before, devoid of pupils. He raised a hand to run through his beard, which was the stark black of the scales at his throat and belly when he was in his other body.

“I think we should be far enough from civilisation here to be undisturbed,” Nereus decided.

“That’s true.” Alkaeus had seen him without clothes many times, for obviously he wore none when he shifted back, and secretly he had always enjoyed the sight of it. He was distracted now, however, by the anxious flutter of his stomach that he tried to clamp down on. It was unworthy for a soldier. “I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just go back to your house.”

Laughing, Nereus reached for him and released the clasp of the deep blue cloak he was wearing, the one made to match his husband’s scales.

“It’s tradition,” he said. “The dragon descends on the village, steals a virgin, and flees into the mountains to ravish them and get them with child. That was how the story used to be, I think, but it’s so old I can’t tell you if it ever really happened that way.” His smile was impish, small lines around his eyes crinkling in a way Alkaeus has always found charming. “Next time you get a bed, I promise.”

“I’ve spent the last ten years in the field. Most of my trysts happened far from mattresses and pillows,” Alkaeus said quickly, to escape the accusation of being soft. “But if you’re expecting a virgin, you may be disappointed, polemarch.” Not that he thought Nereus did.

“Polemarch?” Nereus asked, bemused. “Since when do you use my title, Alkaeus?”

Alkaeus cursed himself silently for the slip-up. Nereus had offered him his name months ago and he’d quite happily used it, aware it meant he was in the polemarch’s good graces. It seemed his nerves drove him back into the role of eager lieutenant.

He quickly reached for the leather belts that kept his breastplate in place and loosened them, in the hopes of appearing less skittish than he felt.

“Nereus,” he corrected himself. “It will be dark soon and there are wolves in the woods. I would hate to be caught with my _pteruges_ around my knees.”

“Quite right.”

Nereus helped him pull off the armour, taking his greaves and vambraces and placing them in the grass. Alkaeus stripped the tunic and battle skirt, too.

“The child – I will bear it? Or will it have to be cut out?” he asked, finally, hoping to sound casual, as he slid his underclothes down his legs.

“You will bear it if all goes as it should. Your body will accomodate to that, just as it will accomodate to carrying a child.”

After a second’s consideration, Alkaeus decided he would really rather not think about that right now, after all, or he might lose his nerve entirely. He placed his underwear down on the pile of clothes in the grass.

Nereus’ hand landed heavy on his shoulder. He turned Alkaeus around.

“If you would rather not do this tonight, we can always just tell people we did. We have our lives together ahead of us,” he said.

“I do want this!” Alkaeus answered with some force. “I want to become your mate and rider. Your husband.”

“So?” Nereus asked calmly.

He had always been so measured, even though he was as fierce a warrior as any Alkaeus had met in his life. The thoughts swirling in his head were quieted by this reminder of why he had agreed to the marriage in the first place, had in fact been grateful for the offer, and not just for the jump in status it represented for him to become Nereus’ chosen.

“I suppose the task of carrying dragon heirs is – not something I ever thought I’d face.” ‘Daunting’ may have been the most honest word, but no warrior of Lapethos would have been so embarrassingly honest in revealing his fears. “My family has never been in contact with the old blood.”

“If I didn’t think you could do it, I would have told the king to reconsider,” Nereus said, splaying his hand over Alkaeus’ hard, flat belly before he leaned in close. “Though it would have been difficult to convince myself. I have not yet liked a rider as much as you. Few are as good at the craft, and the skilled ones were never so good to have around for a drink, or so clever at the war table. King Eusebius only picked up on an inclination that was already there, I should guess, and I will do my best to ensure his favour to me will be beneficial to you as well.”

Alkaeus felt a surge of joy at those words. Their burgeoning friendship outside of battle had brought him much pleasure, but because Nereus’ face so rarely showed more than a thoughtful gaze or diplomatic smile, he had never been able to gauge what he thought of it.

He closed the distance between them and pressed a firm kiss on Nereus’ lips.

“You are kind, but it already is. As for my suitability – I should get to proving you right,” Alkaeus decided, as he drew back.

Nereus laughed. “There is the fighting spirit I like.”

He drew Alkaeus down into the high grass with him and kissed him again, his long, powerful limbs wrapping around him. Even sitting by his side before, Alkaeus had, on cold nights, thought that Nereus was warmer than most people even as a human, and that was now proven right as he pressed against him. It was as if the dragon fire still burned in his core, all that power that Alkaeus felt moving under him when they were in the air, barely contained by his own guiding touches and words.

Their kisses were greedier now as they laid on the ground, the thick smell of earth and crushed grass surrounding them. Alkaeus could feel the points of Nereus’ teeth when he pushed his tongue into his mouth. It was easy not to notice their somewhat unusual shape when Nereus spoke, as they were hardly daggers in his mouth, but now the sharp tips scraped against him.

He pushed a hand between their bodies, taking Nereus’ cock in hand. It was thick and heavy in his palm, growing even bigger from its already impressive size as he encircled it tightly with his fingers, ducking his head to kiss Nereus’ throat. Nereus’ breath hitched as he rutted against his hand.

“Did you get the oil I asked you to bring?”

“When do I ever forget to carry anything for you?” Alkaeus said smugly as he reached for the small satchel he had taken with him, now buried under his clothes. As the rider, it was among his tasks to keep on him some clothes, light armour, weapons, and all other things Nereus might need when he shifted back. He prided himself on the fact that Nereus barely had to instruct him now.

Nereus smiled as Alkaeus handed him the small leather flask.

“I don’t usually get put on my back,” Alkaeus admitted, hesitantly. “Give me some, I’ll prepare myself.”

“Allow me.”

Nereus pulled the cork out with his teeth and spat it onto the meadow, dribbling oil onto his own fingers. 

“Do you not enjoy having a man between your legs?” he asked, as his slick fingertips glided across the base of Alkaeus’ hard cock, then down to the balls, palming them for a moment. Alkaeus shuddered.

“If I like him enough and he can make it worth my while, I might. But I usually have other things to worry about than dalliances, so I’ll just quickly pull a willing man into my tent and fuck him on his knees.”

Smiling, Nereus dropped his hand and leaned over him.

“I do hope I measure up to your standards,” he teased gently before kissing along the shell of his ear.

“We’ll have to see,” Alkaeus said, and he’d wanted to sound playfully prideful, but his breath stuttered when Nereus pushed a finger deep into him.

“I had a feeling you could take that,” he murmured.

Alkaeus huffed. He doubted he would have been as ready for anyone but Nereus. His muscles would have stopped it before his head could have. Nereus very presence, however, put him at ease in the way other men did not. Of course, he still had too much pride to say so.

“Well, I have _you_ between my legs every time we fly together,” he answered, instead. “Perhaps I am used to it.”

Nereus chuckled and turned his hand, the drag of his finger a subtle pull on the skin of Nereus’ entrance that should really be too slight to have him shivering as he was. His thighs fell apart as his lover found the right spot inside him, the one that sent lightning up his spine, as easily as if he’d memorised a map of his body. His free hand was on Alkaeus’ chest, twisting his nipple, the firm grip deliciously painful.

When the second finger joined the first, Alkaeus was almost ashamed of how little resistance his body put up. He found himself seizing up briefly, just as his brain gained control over his lower senses, wondering if Nereus really thought him worthy when after his boasting he succumbed so easily; but then Nereus’ mouth was on his again, his impossibly long, pointed tongue pushing against his own, the heated weight of his body bearing down on him, and Alkaeus found himself grow loose, allowing those fingers in where they could please him. Nereus hummed a wordless encouragement against his mouth as he twisted his fingers up, pushing harder. When he reached for Alkaeus’ manhood with his other hand, Alkaeus caught his wrist.

“Enough,” he panted. “I want your cock.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Nereus’ teeth looked just a little sharper than before.

When Nereus grabbed him around the hips and turned him on hands and knees, Alkaeus allowed it, bracing himself. His elbows buckled just for a fraction of a moment when Nereus put his cock against his hole and pushed in with a swift, hard thrust. He fit him, though, accepted him into his body as Nereus began languidly rocking against him.

“See, I was right. You were made for his,” Nereus muttered.

Alkaeus winced like he’d slapped him over the back of the head, but Nereus put a gentling hand on his side.

“It’s not an insult. You’re powerful,” he pressed into him further, “but you yield to me because you want to. That is what I need.”

Alkaeus found himself shuddering at another thrust, knees sliding further apart on the soft ground of grass.

“A strong man to carry my heirs... I can’t wait until I can see you big with our child,” Nereus murmured into his ear, his hand covering his belly again.

The idea should have been bizarre, but Alkaeus found himself gasping as Nereus was fucking into him at a relentless pace.

“You may have to stop riding for a little while, at the end, when you’re too great with child. I will stay with you, though.”

“To enjoy the fruit of your labour, I assume?” Alkaeus mocked breathlessly. “When I’m helpless in your grasp, too big to flee? As if I am trying to run right now…”

Nereus laughed. It sounded rougher than before, somehow less human. He kissed him on the cheek, his sharp teeth grazing him.

“I was going to say to protect you and our children, but...”

Obviously he did not mind Alkaeus’ suggestion because the force of his movements became almost punishing. Alkaeus finally let his shoulders drop, presenting his backside to him as he pawed at his own cock. He had a feeling Nereus might have helped him out if not for the fact that Alkaeus could feel claws piercing the skin at his hips right now. It seemed that Nereus was too far gone to focus on anything but fucking that heir into him, and the thought of all that power and lust focused on him send Alkaeus tumbling over the edge.

As he collapsed in the grass, Nereus kept holding on to him, using his slack, shivering body for a few moments longer until he spent himself, buried to the hilt. His seed was so hot Alkaeus could feel it even against the warmth of his own insides, squirming in Nereus’ bruising grasp, moaning.

Nereus breathed out and Alkaeus figured he would pull back, but almost the same moment he could feel something swell inside him instead, just behind his entrance.

“What is that?!”

He tried to pull away, reflexively, but Nereus held him in place.

“The knot,” Nereus said, still panting. “Did you not know? I’m sorry, I figured you probably had heard about it from friends at some point, if nowhere else. Don’t recruits talk these days? I know hundred crude jokes from my younger days…”

“I’m not noble like you. None of my friends have ever sat on a dragon’s cock,” Alkaeus said, with an amused little huff.

It was not so bad, really, now that he knew what was happening, just a dull pressure keeping them anchored. Nereus was draped over his back and Alkaeus allowed himself to sink into the grass further, almost lying down. Nereus placed gentle kisses on his shoulder, with no hint of fangs now. His fingernails were equally blunt as he brushed a drop of blood he’d drawn with his claws away.

“It’s to keep my seed in you a little longer. Make sure it takes.”

Alkaeus turned his head to kiss him again and Nereus grabbed him around the middle, sitting back to pull him into his lap. Alkaeus, still too sensitive, groaned quietly as Nereus’ hand explored his belly like he could already imagine their child there. However, he stopped to remove a few mashed blades of grass and a crumbled leaf.

“You’ve got half a garden stuck to you. Whatever my ancestors were up to, I really do prefer beds.”

Alkaeus smiled to himself.

“Some ravishing beast you are.”

Of course, as he sank back against his mate’s chest, he thought that in fact Nereus was perfect.


End file.
